Legal Notice Issued After Document Surfaces
After a document which appears to be a post-mortem of the 2007 election surfaced, the PLP called on the “OBA/UBP to come clean” about their plan, the OBA said the document was fabricated and the U.S. based consultant the document is attributed to issued a notice to the media through a local lawyer indicating publication of the document will be met with legal proceedings.
After the report initially aired about the document, PLP Chairman Anthony Santucci said: “The revelation of the OBA/UBP’s secret plan to deceive the voters of Bermuda raises serious questions about who that party really represents and what they really stand for.
“For a party that has seen key members deride race as a factor in Bermuda, the racially insulting tone of this document with its references to using black surrogates in place of white candidates is troubling.
“We call on the OBA/UBP to come clean and explain what they mean by ‘black surrogates’ and reveal the truth about who they really represent and what they really stand for,” Mr Santucci concluded.
When asked OBA Leader Craig Cannonier said: “This alleged report has nothing to do with the One Bermuda Alliance.” He referenced a news story that said the report was a post-election analysis about the December 2007 election results, but said “we are told that the document in question was dated October 2007. That makes no sense and tells us it is nothing but a fabrication.”
Calling it “dirty politics,” Mr Cannonier said: “The One Bermuda Alliance has waged a campaign based on facts, focusing on the need to grow the economy, return good-paying jobs to thousands of unemployed Bermudians, restore safety to our neighbourhoods, control soaring debt and make sure our children get the education they need.”
“Their campaign has been a disgrace; putting forward nothing but wave after wave of negativity and distortion,”said Mr Cannonier. “The people of Bermuda deserve better….”
The document — which is a 28-page PDF — was posted on the website yesterday [Nov 28] and Facebook ads [photo] began running promoting the website last night. A quick check of the website indicates that the registration is hidden, the domain name was registered yesterday, and the document appears to have been posted at about 1pm.
The purported document alleges a number of things, such as suggesting the use of “black surrogates” for white candidates, as well a “rebranding” campaign which would involve the UBP splitting into two groups and then re-emerging under a new name for the next election.
Former UBP Leader Kim Swan previously admitted that there was some truth to reports of a plan being in existence which called for the UBP to divide into two groups, with the younger members splitting off and having the older members join them.
This evening Bernews received a legal notice from a local law firm indicating that “publication of the document is defamatory” and “will be met with legal proceedings.”
The notice from Marshall Diel & Myers law firm — which they confirmed was fine for public use — said: “It has come to the attention of Penczner Media that a document has been anonymously posted on the website “ubpleaks.com” entitled “United Bermuda Party, Post election: Analysis & Comments”. The claim that the document was produced by Marius Penczner or Penczner Media is completely false and defamatory.
“The document purports to have been produced in 2007. The attribution is false; the document was not authored by, prepared by, nor was there any input whatsoever from Penzner Media, Marius Penczner or anyone associated with Penczner Media. Someone has maliciously created a document and posted it with the intent of misleading the public that Mr. Penczner was the author. He was not.
“There are obvious signs that this is a fabricated document. Whoever authored this document dated it 22 October 2007, nearly two months in advance of the election held on 18 December 2007. It is impossible that such a document could contain a post-election analysis. The address listed in the header of the document is incorrect, referring to “Washing” as opposed to “Washington”. The banner at the top of each page is not Penczner stationery.
“Since 1986 Penczner Media has collaborated with hundreds of clients. It develops television, print & online media for some of the world’s best known corporations and causes. Penczner Media is not in the business of producing documents of the kind that has been irresponsibly published by ubpleaks.com…
“Publication of the document is defamatory of the good reputation of Marius Penczner and Penczner Media and further publication of the document will be met with legal proceedings.”
Update: Without any mention of who actually produced it, former UBP Leader Kim Swan has said that to his recollection there was a document containing things along the line of those in the document in question produced after the 2007 election. He stated this on last night’s television news, and speaking with him this morning he said “he spoke the truth” last night.
Read More About
Comments (192)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Articles that link to this one:
- Cannonier: “This Press Conference Is Over” | Bernews.com | December 3, 2012
- Swan: OBA Leader Fabrication Claim Is “Bizarre” | Bernews.com | December 4, 2012
- PLP & OBA On UBP Report, ‘Cover Up’ & More | Bernews.com | December 5, 2012
This has all the hallmarks of the a political dirty tricks secrets department. Next thing we’ll be told is they intercepted something in the mail to Premier Cox. Or white people have an inbuilt genetic predisposition to vote a certain way from the time they are conceived.
It can only be hoped that the perpetrators of this mischief are identified and brought before the courts.
Note to file: Kim Swan did NOT go to the media with this information, he answered a question put to him by Gary, honestly!
Fact 2: Wayne Furbert some time ago stated that there was such document.
Fact 3: John Barritt some time ago stated that there was such document.
Fact 4: Someone faked a report with added wrong date on cover and posted to distract from the real report.
Fact 5: Gary has both reports the real one and the one with the fake date to distract, threaten law suits and stop the tv media. Notice the Royal Gazette did not carry the story in yesterday’s newspaper.
Fact 6: Glen Smith, Grant Gibbons and Michael Dunkley don’t state that the real document is a fake.
Fact 7: Craig looks like the biggest idiot stating the document is a fake, without speaking to Dunkley and Gibbons about the real document, how often do they speak?
Fact 8: Certain UBP/OBA members knew about said document and worked behind the scenes to pull off the biggest BERMIEGATE.
Fact 9: They the builders of the BDA/OBA are the biggest users of Bermudians who truly want to build a better racial inclusion for Bermuda. They are lazy, they wanted the easy way out instead of pulling up their socks and work the communities trust and gain power transparently, which with all the PLP fiscal irresponsibility they would of been able to achieve. Shame Shame Shame on them all!
Summary: Read between the lines Bermudians – They threw Kim Swan away and treat him like yesterdays garbage and now trying to ruin his Integrity.
They threw Wayne Furbert, Jamal, Maxwell & Gweneth as well.
But the Man that has stated there is such a document John Barritt is still ok for tea time and has not been excluded from his share of the money pie.
Don’t get distracted. Make them run on their record.
Are they trying to place a legal suit again Mr. Kim Swan? Voters take notice, they up to old tricks. If you don’t join us, we destroy you. Terrible to do to one of the only honest politicians with integrity
Oh I see OBA quite an interesting record of deception and lies and they’ve not even gotten back in yet. You’re damn right don’t get distracted. I won’t be distracted by your “the plp caused the global economic crisis” campaign. Go sell it to Nandi. Truth is I think most voters don’t want to give you the time of day on these blogs. Most just see the truth, say mmmhmm like a wise ol granny Smith and keep on.
@Amazing Grace
Bravo…you’ve just proven that any utterly insane person with a half-decent command of the English language can turn an unfounded lump of partisan garbage into a lengthy, substance-less post that uses the word “Fact” 9 times and still transcends literally nothing.
If you’re all the PLP has in terms of damage control, they’re truly screwed…
Kim Swan confirmed that the contents in the document are consistent with the document he received. So there can be NO lying or flip flopping. His conscience must have been bothering him.
Craig Cannonier and the token black candidates are “surrogates” (puppets) of the real white power behind them?!? 
And the large amount of black voters who voted for the first time are “downscale” (inferior), less educated, (intellectually inferior), and thus not likely to vote for “US”. WOW! If only those inferior —- were intelligent they’d know what’s best for them. Since they don’t, we have to employ chicanery and subterfuge so we can rule once again. It’s so easy to split up their ranks, just put one of their own in the spotlight. Make them think they are voting for a party which has their interests and which represents them. They wanna vote black like we vote white well let’s give em black surrogates. We have to deceive them. …….Piss off racist bastards!
———————-
WOW! Undecided black voters break back to “their” black party?!?
PLP PLP THANK GOD ALMIGHTY I’m voting P L P
http://ubpleaks.com/
UBP/OBA are not even a viable opposition party. I pray that the good people of Bermuda are not deceived by their mighty evil plot. Now we need a viable opposition. OBP = Outwit, Bamboozle, Piss on em and tell em it’s raining. Dafuq outta here man.
Wow.
They can’t even smear someone right!
October 22 2007?!! Washing?
How utterly pathetic.
Did you watch the news tonight? This document is 100% real.
So tou wrote it then did you? Must have because only the author can say it the report they wrote. Police arrest “about time” if he is not the author, he is part of the conspiracy to decieve.
Lol I hear Washing state is nice this time of year, I’ve heard good things about this little town called MORONS!
The OBA Members were not smiling at the nomination polls today because they were in pain from knowing the truth. They can make legal claims now or hand over their document so we can see everything.
Not a chance they will hand it over! Especially after Craig said it doesn’t exist.
They were smiling , charting and very upbeat on the news, stop spreading PLP lies, You think the poeple of Bermuda are stupid, please give us some respect.
Better Tell Gary Moreno. He put your lies to rest!!!
lmao…cant wait ….
Wow they really will stop at nothing. Its 2012 and you can’t even forge a document properly…for me its either the oba or my hand drawn weed leaf…so far the weed leaf is winning.
And why or how would someone forge a 28 page document full of internal information. C’mon now.
Because they can and they did. Pretty obvious why…$$$$$$$ wake up and smell what the PLP really are about.
I’m sorry, but I can’t fathom a professional document, even one of confidentiality, being that racially charged. If there was a document, it had to have been edited to make it worse than what it is. Also, you really think they’ll misprint their address on a document? That header is more then likely a template that is used on other documents and a company would have picked up on typos a long time ago before being used in this document.
Here’s when this site was created and the document uploaded:
Registered through: Automattic
Domain Name: UBPLEAKS.COM
Created on: 28-Nov-12
Expires on: 28-Nov-13
Last Updated on: 28-Nov-12
Registrant:
Domains By Proxy, LLC
DomainsByProxy.com
14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
Administrative Contact:
Private, Registration UBPLEAKS.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains By Proxy, LLC
DomainsByProxy.com
14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax — (480) 624-2598
Technical Contact:
Private, Registration UBPLEAKS.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains By Proxy, LLC
DomainsByProxy.com
14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax — (480) 624-2598
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.WORDPRESS.COM
NS2.WORDPRESS.COM
Registry Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Registry Status: clientRenewProhibited
Registry Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registry Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Lol we had to mislead you. Again. Was the author so naive that they didn’t expect to be caught out. Good lord.
All of this finger pointing
Name calling
He said, she said, they did, no they didn’t…
And I bet the rest of the world is laughing at Bermuda right now.
It’s not gonna matter who wins this election, neither party has done anything to earn my vote!
I bet they’ll all have a big sigh of relief as I can’t vote as I’m away in University.
PLP/OBA/UBP/Independents…
Do us all a really big favour, focus on the future. It’s clear the present is lost, and the past cannot be changed.
Yeah, what a slap in the face for College students! Guess the plp figure y’all are too intelligent to vote for them.
IMHO, if one votes plp we will get more of the same. However, if one votes OBA there MAY be some hope. That’s about it.
Vote wisely.
I think your opinion is spot on. I remember as a child my granfather talking about what things would be like under a plp government, its like he could see the future, I’m sad he isn’t here to guide me anymore but happy he isn’t here to witness this, after 2007 he’s probably like a pinwheel in his grave.
R.I.P. Granda, its almost as if integrity passed away with you.
Feelin’ you, Come Correct. Only my mom was so committed to the original PLP ideals, she never thought she’d live to see the day they became the Government, and she was overjoyed when it happened in 1998. I am so glad she had passed on before she could see She has been spinning since 2007 because of the betrayal of her sense of values – she prized honesty, transparency, owning up to one’s mistakes, and looking after the underdog. She also prized giving respect to all, even the man in the gutter. She demonstrated the most positive application of the axim “treat people how you want to be treated. If you demonstrate how it’s done, they will usually follow your lead.” Wish there were more like her still around.
Well said…
I doubt most of the rest of the world has a clue where Bermuda is!
Let alone be laughing!
LOL I wonder if the police will investigate as they did with those fake cheques?
or the bullets
or those cedar beams
Um… any document made by a computer contains the signature of the machine that made it… this should even take an idiot 5 minutes to figure out… I would have thought that the PLP (if not involved) would be equally interested in catching the culprit. If the police cant get a subpoena to investigate this case, perhaps internet watchdogs like Anonymous would be interested to see justice brought to this troubling digital fraud!
I’ve checked the metadata of the document already and it has been cleared. Also, I’ve done a WHOIS search on the domain. The site is hosted by WordPress and the domain “UBPleaks.com” is registered to domains by proxy. They will keep the real owners information private unless they are provided with a legal subpoena or cease and desist.
Anonymous don’t care about subpoenas, they care about freedom of information. Perhaps we should hit them up, I like their style of getting things done.
Metadata is easily removed. Even if it wasn’t it would show who the software is registered to and maybe the user name, all of which could be falsified.
Pathetic!!! Hope they sue —— for slander & then turn around and give the money to needy charities that this present Government has neglected!
Kinda hard to sue for slander when they were exposed on the news tonight. Don’t get too excited OBA fans. You’ve been pawns all along.
Remember it was your government that had to deceive you. Don’t think for a second they won’t try more trickery this time around… if they win.
Libel
On the new last night they did not definitively prove or state that the document on line is in fact the same document did they. Try again PLP bloggers………….
LOL it’s you guys that think the electorate is stupid not the OBA
Kim Swan, did you release this report ? and if you did I and others have lost all respect from you.
Why would people lose respect? On the one hand we want transparency and the right to know but when things surface we don’t like we are critical of the truth. Hypocrite.!
The only education the PLP had before they were voted in in 1998 was a couple degree’s in Political Science.
Now what they have is the Masters of Deception, this lsland is scroo’d if there is no change. Well screwed for me because l am white, l meant.
The creditability of the report found on the above listed site may be questionable. However, the report that is in the possession of ZBM and confirmed tonight by Kim Swan, I do believe is authentic.
Now, I know with party politics there will be people that would defend or completely deny the report as shown this evening on the ZBM News without seeking out the truth. If proven true, this scam would be just as big or even bigger than the “We had to deceive you” moment.
Ok how so? The ubp were big enough to admit they had no chance of ever winning again. Fair enough. So they may have sought a second opinion On how to move forward in a changing Bermuda. Learning and growth are not negatieve attributes and I think in this case their intentions were good. Time moves on. At one time we were dragging prostitutes across The Sound in boats as punishment and burning people who had unusual birthmarks. Now we know that’s just plain ignorant.
Wrong is wrong no matter the good intentions!Dont make excuses for them now that you kno they have been lying!
So have the PLP but you and others make excuses for them all the time……… your point…………..
LOL
Grow up girls!
Craig,
Did Dunkley tell you about this report? You say its a fabrication, but we learned on the news its….
Who is not telling the truth. The Media who can be sued, or the politician who can’t.
Pleaseeeeeeeeee – someone is putting a report out there that is from 2007 post the last election – so what? Do not all businesses and Corporations do such after big events so that they make better decisions for the next time?
Much to do about nothing.
I guess it doesn’t matter who you vote for. Just vote for the lesser of 2 evils. All I see is a PLP government who never had a clue and bluffed their way these years. And an OBA party that has the white elite behind the scenes and the black members out front. If they become the next government the elitist will kick Cannonier to the curb so fast his head will spin. He is either a willing or unwilling puppet…
You don’t know if that’s true really, do you, about the OBA? We know what the plp have done so far. OBA is an unknown until they prove their worth. I voted plp the year they were voted in. Was willing to give them another chance as they were inexperienced initially. Now I am pretty well disgusted with their performance and looking elsewhere.
@Keturah: Yes I don’t know if that is true its just my observation and my opinion. Looking at the reputation of the Leader and Deputy leader who I know very well they have been known to change their spots. So I guess as they say “it will all come out in the wash”.
Are you really Vote For Me? That’s not the face usually tied to that name, but I have seen it before and I will find out. You people are idiots if you haven’t realized what the faces are linked to, I’m not going to tell you, am I the only one that sees these things? Bunch of paid bloggers.
Let me clear something up for you, if the oba win and Cannonier is given the boot, I personally will start a crusade against the oba, not under Come Correct, out in public under my own birth name. Win the f@ckin election off of your own merits/track record, or get the f@ck off my isand and go to America where this BS is acceptable!
The plp have been using caustic American style politics for years. There’s no difference.
@ Come correct – the post by ‘Vote for Me’ is an imposter. You are correct about the facial recognition. The genuine Vote for Me has a green face with a slightly crooked face.
@Come Correct – and I’ll be standing right with you! But I DON’T believe this is what will happen to Cannonier, whilst i DO believe it will happen to Cox – just one of the million reasons I won’t be voting PLP this time!
This document is a fake. Even Stevie Wonder could see that. October post morton report when the election was in December. If you’re gonna fake something at least do it right PLP supporters. Just like the bullets in the mail to the Doc, faked cheques to Burgess etc. etc. Politics is dirty business…y’all need to go take a bath!!!
What’s the name of the local law firm? Another secret? The UBP/OBA have been following the instructions in that report to the letter.
Sorry, we just updated with it. It’s Marshall Diel & Myers…
Lavern, you need to take a break…. enough is enough of your rhetoric.
Marshall knows the Diel so they Myers well continue to deny the… , or let Cannonier , or another surrogate take one for the team .
You must be one of the 95% who graduated with a Grade G or higher. The UBP has ceased to exist. The OBA have no need to falsify such a document. So who is left? Clearly the Party who has done nothing in this election campaign but attack. A Party who has no plans, no hope, no ideas, but says it is standing strong? Standing strong means what? Standing strong for the elite like you?
December 17 should mean hope for Bermuda. This actually includes the posibility of the PLP winning, because it will seal the end of the PLP.
Haha. Or the report just described what the party did in a language that insinuated some sort of vast conspiracy, when there really wasn’t one, in order to de-legitimize the OBA. The UBP re-branding itself shouldn’t be an issue to anybody, what else were they supposed to do. However, if they actually did it in a planned way to deceive the Bermuda people then that is an issue. But the document sounds like an obvious fake.
Hey LaVerne…how does a post-election report come out in October when the election occurred in December?? Ooops…missed that one, didn’t you? Totally bogus. Supporters stooping to new lows….outright fraud and deception
LOL keep trying to toe that party line Ms Furbert!
Don’t worry though, I am sure this wouldn’t affect the PLP’s chances anyway, unfortunately.
Take it easy, before you expose yourself again! Lol
Paging Laverne Furbert it’s Marshall Diel and Myers – and your comment is???????
That’s also not the face “LaVerne” posted under the other night. F@ck you peope are dumb.
Now you lot getting Come Correct all upset, one day I’m voting oba, the next I’m voting for the hand draw weed leaf on my ballot, no back to oba it seems…got me feelin all bipolar and sh!t. Oh well, bottom line, I’m not voting plp, this is sheer insanity.
This is totally ludicrous. Can’t even get the date correct. I fear however the OBA response is far too weak. They need to come out guns blazing on this one. It is already all over the talk shows and people WILL BELIEVE whoever screams the loudest. Don’t let this one go by the wayside or it will be a mistake.
If this ‘report’ is in fact a reality, it seems like there must be some sort of inside track.
Interesting, the structuring of the website and formatting has lots of similarities with another politicians formatting I have recently browsed today.
With respect, ms. Furbert, the document highlighted the nasty divide and conquer techniques used my our leaders to win previous elections. Nothing to be proud of either. Peace.
—- LF you are not for Bermuda, you only care about your pocket book —-
Much adoo about nothing. Appears to be another distraction from the issues. If this ‘report’ was written in the last few weeks of course the author would have written to suit.
Nothing to see here. Move on.
Ms Furbert – you and your colleagues are getting more and more desperate. Stop with the hate talk, it is not helping your cause.
The only place Lavern can spew her crap is on the “the peoples show” and that is because the host is terrified of her and her connctions…
Next the OBA going to change their name back to UBP as soon as they get in power…. BTW – how are the OBA going to find jobs if there are none? Pull them out of a hat maybe? Oh wait – as soon as Collectors Hill Esso’s food stall is taken over by BUZZ there will be more jobs… SMDH…. Politics at its finest!
Don’t be deceived…the report is fake. The date on the report pre-dates the election it is reporting on!
ZBM have the real document. Plus contents were confirmed by Kim Swan live on air.. Sucks that the transparency the OBA talked about bit them in the azz
Funny, can’t find any reference to a real document anywhere. Please enlighten.
So why haven’t the police confiscated it like before…clearly you can’t read, shut up.
Sooooo…where is it?
Sooooo…where is it? Just asking because I like to be informed…don’t get defensive there my friend.
No other news sites are carrying this….usually they will at least refer to a different story out there…..thass all I’m sayin
Gary Moreno had a real copy and called Kim Swan on live tv and Swan confirmed that he did in fact receive the document with all of the colonial talk. Just goes to show that some people will believe anything certain people say, no matter if they see the real truth right in front of them.
No, he said he had the real report. How would he know, was he there? No. What we have here is one person (Kim Swan) sayings its real, and others (Cannonier et al) say its a fake. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Funny how you think the OBA/UBP is out to destroy the island yet ignore that the PLP has been doing it for years in front of your face with no future plans for growth and you seem ready to vote for them.
How much worse could another party do? At least we could get a look at the books and what is really going on. Don’t you want to see the books which have been hidden for a decade? Isnt that the reason there are terms? There are terms so that the public has a chance to take the power away from those with all the control and reset and avoid corruption. Don’t you at least feel that with all the missing money there is time for a reset?
Lost money is not investment in infrastructure – it is lost money. A building stands, but millions are missing, that is not investment, that is incompetence or theft. this is your chance to find out. There is no miracle pill, but there is a track record of failure.
Anyone have rum………
Yes terry I do, come my yard and we can cheers to the end of what we knew.
Bermuda: Gansta paradise in the making.
Buffoons.
You’d have to figure they asked their muppets to put this together. Pretty much any highschool student with a computer could have created somthing more believable/authentic.
Why don’t they hire me?! I’m unemployed and an excellent bull sh!tter, I’ve asked this before. If Glen Smith can call me up and wish me a happy birthday (kinda sorta creepy) then they can find out who I am and hit me up. Clearly I know how to blog on Bernews(the #1 news site I may add) without conflicting faces, so what’s the issue? Everyone has a price (I’ll take far less than 160g like Pasta bean). Now that’s what I call investment, something with legit returns. I’ll take $10 a post, what am I at now, like $80?
Lol
They would have to budget you at $10 then tell you to claim you got paid $30 and then you would get $15 each. 15$ for you and $15 for the govt official meanwhile the taxpayer gets the extra debt of $20 and it is called “investment”. Simple.
Unfortunatly I think you’re right. Plus I was close, it was $90…now $100…only problem is 5 more posts and I’m not typing sh!t until I smoke the whole 7grams lol (pot smokers will get that).
get the job at $10 a post and then bill them for $15 due to additional expenses and cost overruns…
Lets hope an investigation is launched & whoever is behind the so-called report at the very least have their computer & smartphone taken awy from them.
Facts:” Kim Swan (UBP) confirmed the document via ZBM evening news.” The PROOF is in the pudding. I listen to the evening news wednesday night and was simply shocked over this document. However when I pick up the royal gazette this morning there was no mention of the document on any page!! HOW WAS THIS NOT FRONT PAGE NEWS!!?? Biased reporting comes to mind! I’m no fan of Gary but I thank him for taking the road less travelled and bring this to the public eye.
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING.
CHANGE ….SURE
but Morano doesn’t say what’s in the real document really. Nothing he asked Mr. Swan was really all that bad. It’s the black surrogates part that is infuriating. The rest was just an obvious playbook for what the UBP had to do.
Wrong….wrong wrong…liar liar liar….he confirmed a report was sought but he did not confirm this was the report. Stop spreading the
Iies. OMG
I know Bermuda needs change, because it is failing badly, the change it needs is for the party that has failed us to be voted out, the party that pretends education is good, when at best it is below the world average (not good at all), borrows to pay expenses and pretends it is an investment, promises transparency and accountability but fails to deliver on this promise every single time. Regardless of what this smear campaign is trying to do, the PLP need to go. Vote the failires and fakers out NOW BYe bye PLP until next time, when hopefully you will not be all about me , me and me.
IF the doc was fabricated even only in part…and really the only part this is damning is the surrogates comment…then i hope the oba swings its balls and takes on the pr battle. Plp is good at this stuff…they know that by this story already being out there that many people will believe it even if it is proven untrue.
It will flourish in the rumour mill and become truth.
Unfortunately…many people that do not stay on top of the news will never know any better and hence fall for these tactics.
OBA: stand up and fight! Show some emotion and get vexed. If you dont want to been seen as too emotional hire someone like laverne to get vexed for you! Wake up and let us see your strength!
I don’ even see that bit as damning, the report was written by a third party and not the UBP. How can’t he OBA be responsible for that?
This is a non event – every party spend countless hours creating strategy. This isn’t anything new – someone just got ahold of internal strategic documentation (and seemingly updated it somewhat.
There’s only so many people willing to run for office in Bermuda – there had to be a schism at some point – whether or not the “new party” looks like the “old party” or not. The point that is missed is that there is one side of the house and the other side of the house. You’re not going to change the name and “poof” create a whole new party.
If it was that easy, I would be running for office. But it’s not that simple. I’m really not thinking conspiracy – more like strategic plan.
Every party has one. This one just got out.
Is it over yet?
Yawn…
Well no matter what UBP or OBA they didn’t create the 1.5 billion in debt, Cutting funds to charities, Millions of dollars unaccounted for, the cost over runs on every Government project, taking back the freebies they gave away to buy votes last time, Oh the (don’t ask me plantation questions)and ( House N**ger), arrested the auditor general for doing his job, making policies that didn’t work, blowing up a hotel for no real reason (still nothing built), getting sued by ASB/BAS for breach of contract, Sued by police for their pay, The highest gun shootings ever under P.L.P watch. the list goes on and on. and they say Standing strong for Bermudians..
BOOOOM! Another mud bomb blew up in the PLP’s face.
Registered through: Automattic
Domain Name: UBPLEAKS.COM
Created on: 28-Nov-12
Expires on: 28-Nov-13
Last Updated on: 28-Nov-12
Registrant:
Domains By Proxy, LLC
DomainsByProxy.com
14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
Administrative Contact:
Private, Registration UBPLEAKS.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains By Proxy, LLC
DomainsByProxy.com
14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax — (480) 624-2598
Technical Contact:
Private, Registration UBPLEAKS.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains By Proxy, LLC
DomainsByProxy.com
14747 N Northsight Blvd Suite 111, PMB 309
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax — (480) 624-2598
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.WORDPRESS.COM
NS2.WORDPRESS.COM
in one Word — DAMN !!!,
Oh my lord. This post-mortem report is dated October 2007.
The election was December 2007.
Is anyone really going to fall for this?
not me
Maybe someone put an earlier date on the report in case it was ever leaked. That’s what I would do.
So, you’re falling for it then. There’s always gullible people around willing to believe anything.
What sense would that make? Are you saying the UBP had clairvoyance at the time to pay for a report to be done, and asked the consultant to BACK-DATE it two months, for fear of it potentially being leaked one day? What possible motive would Penczner Media or any other consultant have for doing that? They have NO stake if the UBP was to be re-elected; they produce reports, and get paid for their services, whichever party wins.
Furthermore, Penczner Media has denied preparing any such report – so who did? If in fact they hired a consultant, why didn’t Kim Swan name the consultant that was used? He was UBP leader at the time, yet he seems to be giving very little facts about this. Either he’s being tight-lipped because he really doesn’t know (in which case he should have kept his mouth closed rather than surmise things from 5 years ago without the documents to back it up) or he’s playing mischief (which really seems beneath him, but if he still harbours a grudge against those who left him, I would be even more suspicous of what he’s saying).
“Without any mention of who actually produced it, former UBP Leader Kim Swan has said that to his recollection there was a document containing things along the line of those in the document in question produced after the 2007 election. He stated this on last night’s television news, and speaking with him this morning he said “he spoke the truth” last night.”
Just took a quick look at the site – looks real enough to me, but so what? It is hardly a memo on how to steal many millions of dollars though it does very clearly point out the high levels of corruption…
Upon deeper reflection, I suspect a real document has been tampered with by whoever is behind this.
And why would they do that?
In short, whoever is behind this (my guess – only a guess – probably somebody like —————) likely figures the OBA are winning this race and the only way to win this election is to destroy their brand. Clearly the PLP cannot win on the economy which is the main issue, so this person(s) is subtly trying to shift it back to Plantation talk. I doubt very much it has anything to with EFB as I think deep down inside he wants a PLP loss so that the Great Saviour (himself) can “reluctantly sacrifice” for his country again – though I would not put a trick like this past that —————-
Wow, what a fiasco…. Gary Mareno, I hope you will do a follow-up. Whoever is responsible for this mess should be charged….. and how are the PLP diehards and followers goning to be able explain this mess.
all you stupid young black people in the oba wake up you are just being used have the —- and step down
wat was in this document which you all seem to think was diabolical..? was it top secret classified nuclear launch codes or something..? was it anything like a company going bankrupt and closing down but reopening under a different name and then flourishing once again ..? hello..?
“Lets Back date it two months and alter Washington, to read Wash so in the event it becomes public, we have deny-ability”
“Let’s cover up the mistake a 6 year old could have spotted”
They say a lie spreads quicker and further than the truth … This particular LIE is spreading like wildfire , and this Lie will bring the OBA down in flames .
I’m disappointed at the author of The Lie , who ever he/she is should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law . Much damage has been caused by The Lie . The author has unjustly labeled ALL of the BLACK members of the OBA as SURROGATES , most disturbing and utterly distasteful .
I detest liars . I Stand Stong against LIARS .
What kind of liars do you detest? Pople who promise new hotels going up by the end of the year just as an election looms, that sort of thing?
People who fabricate —–?
People who say “we’re on time and on budget”, when they’re actually 35% over budget?
People who say the economy is recovering, when it’s actually in freefall?
People who say there’s a 95% graduation rate for schoolkids, when the truth is it’s actually pretty close to 0% when measured by usual standards?
People who say “I was holding it for a friend” “I had no idea” and then “ok, I made a mistake”?
People who pay themselves $160,000 of taxpayer money to write a report to themselves?
Are those the kind of liars you detest and stand strong against?
Dont waste your breath Zombie. These brainwashed fools in denial wont listen to any voice of reason.
Standing Ding-Dongs.
You are correct, the brainwashed never thing they are…. *points at your mirror*
Hey , I’m on your side . I’m just not sure if this document is a BARE FACE LIE OR A BOLD FACE LIE .
Tell you what , it may be a blessing in disguise for the OBA that many students can’t be home to vote . Agreed , they may not have anything for the PLP but they might have even less for the OBA after reading THE LIE .
The students are furious that PROMINENT BLACK CITIZENS are characterized as SURROGATES for LESS PROMINENT WHITE CITIZENS …What a b!tch slap .
I see now – I misunderstood your sarcasm…!
And what students have said this?
The author is/was not a member of the UBP or OBA.
Also, Mr. Dunkley was the leader of the UBP. Anyone below him was a surrogate. Do you detest the word black? The author seems to think that race played a major factor in voters decisions in 2007 and so noted it, and address it. Would followers have been better than surrogates?
sur·ro·gate [sur-uh-geyt, -git, suhr-; sur-uh-geyt, suhr-] Show IPA noun, adjective, verb, sur·ro·gat·ed, sur·ro·gat·ing.
noun
1.a person appointed to act for another; deputy.
2.(in some states) a judicial officer having jurisdiction over the probate of wills, the administration of estates, etc.
3.the deputy of an ecclesiastical judge, especially of a bishop or a bishop’s chancellor.
4.a substitute
Where is the insult in surrogate?
Black people have always been used as surrogates for white people . For example as a wet nurse … Ever seen Mandingo , or Roots where the black mammy has a white baby to the breast . Yeah it’s plenty insulting alright , but We don’t expect you to understand .
The time would have been better spent, if you were to knock on every door in those ten marginal constituencies and ask, why did you not vote fore us. You could now reform the party based on those feed back, with no need to change the name. I guest that’s just too much work. Just food for thought.
Fack you all I’m voting for Hugo Chavez
who cares? did our unemployment rate drop overnight? our we less in debt this morning than we were yesterday? just comes down to a desperate party trying to do anything they can to stay on the gravy train milking Bermuda for every last dollar….in previous campaigns they would have trotted out a potential hotel developer around this time to say her is ever so close to securing financing…..is that Mr Bazarian I see? but no one is falling for that at the so we have muppets and people talking to cars and documents….by a show of hands how many of you believe anything that comes out of the mouth of the anonymous PLP spokesperson? anyone ? Bueller? hello….Standing Wrong for Bermuda
It remains amazing how people on this blog become so entrenched in their own views that they cannot see the forest for the trees! ZBM have reported that there is a REAL live document that all of the former UBPers in the OBA denied existed. They are the majority of the OBA so the OBA cannot claim it has nothing to do with them. Sadly I believe Craig that he did not know because he was not UBP. He has previously stated that he was more closely aligned with the PLP philosphy so I am not guessing. This means that the former UBP members, the majority have been intentionally misleading their leader! Where does that leave the electorate, between a rock and a hard place!!
If ZBM has reported there is a real live document, let them reveal it and place it next to the forged one, which the forged writer has denied.
John Barritt, and a few others have stated years ago that there was such a document. However, and it is a big however, what the UBP chose to do back in 2007 has very little to do with the OBA of the present. Do not ever believe that the OBA consists primarily of UBP members. There are a large and growing number of us who were not affiliated with any party but are disturbed by the present state of affairs, and quite a few who were PLP but became disenchanted (to put a nice word on it) with the way the government has been conducting itself since 2007.
The UBP did not have a say in who was elected leader of the OBA or any other position within that party. The rank and file members are the ones who elected them – one man one vote. Since only the UBP hierarchy would have been privy to such a document, the rank and file would not have any idea about any conspiracy, even if such a thing were planned.
It is kinda hard to manipulate more than a 1000 people in a room without showing your hand, although it appears to be quite easy to manipulate 40+ thousand people on an island. WHAT a distraction from the real issues that are drowning us!!
ALL YOU PEOPLE ARE DUMB ASSES!!
SAYS THE PERSON WHO CAN’T SEEM TO TURN OFF CAPS LOCK
It is so disappointing to see all of this unfold.
Regardless of whether the report is real or not, Bermuda needs a campaign where the leading parties try to out-compete one another by putting forward constructive ideas for how to improve our situation here.
Not discounting the importance of the document if it were real, this whole affair totally puts me off voting for the PLP as this is such an underhand move. Why do they make it so difficult for people to vote for them? All they have to do is put forward a decent platform, demonstrate much improved competence and integrity and they would have a fair run against the OBA.
With so much negative campaigning and such little focus on constructive ideas, it makes it hard to feel there is even a choice of who to vote for, unless there is an independent candidate of course.
OBA supporters first replies to the leak of the document. “Its obviously a fake” “the PLP should be sued for fabricating these slanderous lies” etc. The responses after Gary Moreno exposed the truth. “so what if they had a strategy” “there’s nothing bad in the document”. LMAO some people can do no wrong.
This election’s “bullet in the mail” has now been delivered.
There are some issues with the document posted on the website so I really have no clue if it’s legit or not. Hopefully the company who is denying having created the document and whoever else might be involved will investigate it and those responsible will be dealt with as suits the situation.
Now, working on the assumption that the contents of the document are fact, I just don’t get what the issue is.
It’s not a plan, secret or otherwise. It’s a post mortem, with advice given by an outside entity. Probably, given terminology used, non-Bermudian.
If the UBP took the advice given, more power to them, because it was good advice, even if some of the terminology used was unfortunate.
It was also a pretty good breakdown of both parties tactics.
Political parties do this sort of thing. Even if they didn’t want it public, because no one wants to publicise their business plan, it’s not some sort of devious plan to deceive the public.
Talk about witch-hunting by some.
So you mean you have NO issue with a Party referring to their blacks as surrogates!!
The party did not refer to blacks as surrogates. The post mortem in question did.
But to answer what you’re asking, no I don’t have a problem with it.
All the fuss seems to be about this terminology when in reality there is nothing whatsoever wrong with being a surrogate. It is not a negative term. It means substitute or replacement, not valueless figurehead.
In a country like Bermuda where race is a huge issue during the elections, why on earth wouldn’t any party promote more strongly their black candidates than their white ones?
Frankly, I’d much rather that race not be an issue in politics but the PLP have made it so, so why complain when it was suggested to the opposition to counter it.
Please locate a dictionary and look up the word “surrogate”. After reading the definition please explain what is your issue with the word?! Many people viewed and STILL view the PLP as the “black party” because of their party members in comparison to the UBP at the time. This was no secret and the UBP along with many other Bermudians became aware that this would cause a divide in the voting, that many black Bermudians would infact vote for the “black party”. I DO NOT see the issue with a party that felt that they were not in fact the party of choice (because of the skin color of their memebers) to devise a “plan” i.e. “new strategy” to use and appoint “black surrogates” i.e “black SUBSTITUTES” (if you chose not to look it up) as eligible party candidtates to get rid of the stereotype of their party. It is NO SURPRISE that black Bermudians would vote for a party that had black condidates despite how “good/great” of a platform the other party offered. Thats just my opinion of all of this! The bottom line remains we are still in HUGE debt and not to mention the unemployment rate under this CURRENT GOVERNMENT, among other things! What are “you” PLP supporters really supporting cause I do not see anything worth praising under this government. It’s time for a change befpre it gets even WORSE!
With regard to the PLP campaign so far, I’m reminded of the story of the boy who cried wolf once too often and lost the flock. “It’s about the economy stupid.”
Provided that the date of document is correct (which I highly doubt), we are essentially talking about a 5 year old document relating to a party which does not exist anymore.
Is this the best you can do PLP and blind supporters? Oh right, you cannot run a campaign based on your current record, that would be political suicide.
Anyone else catch the trend wih this party….deflect attention away from attrocious unemployment statistics, national debt level and disastrous education results; pin all your hopes on a 5 year old report where the morons can’t even get a header right!
Sadly this is all they have left.
Vote wisely
At the end of the day the true/false document just proved that the UBP is still running things but silently. Craig I am sorry but you a just a pawn in this game of chess.
A game of Chess? Seriously?
Of course, I get it now…the OBA are really the pawns of the UBP who actually the Forty Thieves who are really a splinter of MI6, who are run by the royal family who really answer to the Chinese Central Committee who themselves are actually a colony of the alien race known as Ferengi!
We’ve got record breaking debt and unemployment, but hey let’s play conspiracy chess.
It is fundamentally unhealthy for any democracy to have the same group of people in charge for a long period of time. Just give me change.
….and her strings are not being pulled from AP Owen Road…right?
Lets really look at this in depth. For years we’ve seen the PLP use these types of tactics (IMO) the bullet no one was prosecuted for, the badly forged checks which we have never herd the out come of and now this document which coincidently states everything the PLP voice boxes have been saying from day one of the formation of the BDA and the OBA it confirms for those that believe it that the document posted on UBP Leaks is the real document. Sorry I just don’t believe it scandal after scandal with this government not one election has been won on the issues of the day since 2003.
Let’s see what the effect of this document initially was: 1 mass feeling of insult that was completely pushed by one particular radio station and talk show host. Followed up by the usual callers calling for the “truth” to come out. The continual labeling buy people of the same race saying that’s what other races think of them (instilling fear). Shutting down any who don’t want to talk about this document especially if they try to take about the PLP track record or their plan to right the economy. The continual labeling of the OBA as the UBP as the White American Republicans (again fear of the imaginary racist white men secret concave, I can’t even say it the Bermuda people their are afraid of it like they think that all whites in the western and eastern hemisphere has the same thought of them). Constant hysteria on the same talk show where the host continually tries to stir the audience (by the way listen to said talk show host as the voice rises higher and higher sort of proving that the basis that they (meaning the radio host) have cause that is what it is, is based on emotion funny that proof is when a person calls that does not share the opinion said host is trying to push after the heated discussion has to take a musical break before resuming. At the end of the day where is the definitive proof that these white secret kkk in the words of the PLP even exists.
LOL the report had one thing right the PLP has used and is using US REPUBLICAN style politricks next we will see electronic voting machines that choose the PLP no matter who you select..lol
Please OBA supporters just except u have been blinded and still can’t see OBA/ubp will do anything for power. Craig u look so stupid now,. Hope when you stay opposition leader the rest of ya dream team have ya back. Cause look to me we you lose the election all your members will be jumping ship to stay afloat from you sinking party.
Please PLP supporters just except u have been blinded and still can’t see PLP will do anything for power.
You are a real intelligent person.
Being the doc has a pre December 2007 date on it and Washington is spelled wrong. I think you and all thoughs pushing this are looking pretty stupid. Again Kim Swan did not confirm the doc on the internet was the correct doc and at this point I think Kim should be careful what he says unless he is in possetion of the real document but I find it interesting that the listed “main points” printed above the doc sort of as a summery if you will confirm what the plp mouth pieces have been accusing the OBA of all along. Funny that along with the misspelling (Goverment.. comes to mind). Sorry just don’t buy it……..
LOL try again PLP
The irony is that even if the PLP win because of this – they lose. The amount of capital that will therefore not invest is not the half of it, the bigger problem will be the quiet but steady exodus of capital to places where it is wanted and respected, i.e both monetary and human resources. So while Rome burns and Nero tinkers, those who are unwilling to face realities – recognise that the entire world is a very changed place from four years ago, and continue to be apologists for incompetence and the dishonesty of many senior PLP figures will be the ultimate losers of what history will duly recognise as a two decade long downward spiral and some of this country’s worst days.
How about when the PLP used Jennifer Smith as their surrogate to win an election and then promptly tossed her out and inserted Dr Evil? I’d like to see a copy of THAT secret plan! Bottom line is whatever this “report” is, it has nothing to do with the OBA. MOVE ON people! Let’s discuss the abysmal education numbers released today. Our young people deserve better.
Actually Mr. Milk Toast came after Jennifer. Dr. Evil was next. Just sayin.
and if only the PLP was so zealous regarding the implementation of PATI….
Can we see all consultant’s reports done for the PLP over the years?
Yeah…the reports that were done for Brown are probably along the lines of that UBP report….that’s politics folks. I’m sickened by the language used in that report, but I’m sure the language in the PLP reports are just as sickening…..afterall these consultants tell you what you want to hear in the context of your thinking. It would be better if the white ex-UBP team publicly admit that the report is genuine and they objected to the negative language used toward their black members and potential voters. As disappointed as I am right now (I’m sure cannonier feels the same) I still want my country fixed and the PLP are not the ones to achieve this.
If the report is valid, why wasn’t it put out by the leakers earlier? Why didn’t it come out when the OBA was first launched? Why now, 3 weeks before the General Election?? If the leakers thought it was so important for the public to have this information, why not come forward sooner. This is what makes me think that this is nothing more than a dirty election ploy. And why can’t the leakers say who actually created the report?
@ Portia
If you review the Thursday news report from Moreno, you will see that the report posted on the web was an altered version of the real report. Moreno had the original report addressed to Glen Smith, Dunkley and Gibbons. Remember that Barritt previously admitted to existence of such a report.
Forgettng all the conspiracy theories, Dunkley, Gibbons or Smith should state whether the document is true.
We will also see if there are any more legal challenges since the original appears to have been found.
The political solution would have been for OBA to release the document some time ago to allow the firestorm to die down. How do the black and white OBA supporters face each other in light of these damning revelations?
This is just embarrassing…
This is for the peole at Bernews. Do you guys know who is representing the Island at the Foreign and Overseas territories meetings next week? Have you heard anything about the possibility of new tax regulations from the UK?
Anybody will accept that the leaking of the report represents a virtual disaster for OBA.
The facts:
Former UBP leader Swan admits such a document exists
Former interim OBA Leader Barritt admits such a document exists
Current OBA Leader Cannonier denies such a report exists
US consultants hire Bermuda lawyers to deny they authored the report and then effectively threatens anyone for publishing the document
GARY MORENO PRODUCES THE DOCUMENT ON BERMUDA’S MOST WATCHED NEWSCAST
Problems
1 – how did the leader not know about the report, given its significance in starting the OBA? has he been duped?
2 – did the former UBP heavy weights simply withhold the report? Who else had access and did not share with Cannonier?
3 is anyone following the play book, to Cannonier’s disadvantage
4 the OBA supporters often claim the racial balance of the party but are now effectively reduced to surrogates for the real decision makers
The OBA are asking the electorate to ‘trust us’, we will do better and many of the main decision makers already have a detailed plan based on a hidden agenda to use black supporters to attract black swing voters!!
And some of you posters think this is not a major PR disaster this close to an election – REALLY!! What else doesn’t Cannonier know or is being witheld from him?
Whoever came up with this hoax Report has certainly got people like you all worked up. Please continue posting and waste your time and energy.
@ more confused.
Where is the greater hoax – Barritt admitted the existence of the report. Swan, Furbert and Tucker also admitted but they can be dismissed because of possible sour grapes.
Before you write a comment that disparages Barritt, remember that he was the OBA saviour that stood aside to give his seat to a ‘seatless’ Cannonier after he ‘won’ the OBA Leadership.
Be careful also because the existence of the report gives credence to the reported manipulations in the OBA vote that resulted in the most likly winner (Dunkley) not contesting the Leadership.
And the PLP’s hidden agenda is to use race, once again, to attract black swing voters. But it’s now so old, so predictable, that it’s no longer hidden. Pretty transparent, really. Tomorrow, despite secret reports, over 3,000 people will still be unemployed, Bermuda will still face an unprecedented $1.5 billion debt, education results will still be utterly appalling, young men will still be shooting each other. And the PLP thinks they deserve another five years on the basis of this report? This is not a PR disaster. The record of the PLP Government is the real disaster.
This isn’t the first time that someone has played around with PDFs and attempted to frame someone. Whatever came of the “forged check” allegations?
Bets on it being the same person?
Historical amnesia. UBP elders (& the 40 thieves) have been plotting this even while they were in power; not so long ago. where have they been in this election run-up? conspicuously absent & silent. Do we think they just rode off into the sunset when the UBP split?
Yeah, pretty much. When you are dead or very old, you tend to lose interest in politics.
It seems one part of the Report that has been changed is the secret that several UBP MPs will cross the House and join the PLP. They will then work from inside to destabilise the PLP. At least one will become a Cabinet Minister. This will allow them to hear all the juicy information that they can send back to the other Party. I know this rumour is true because a fly on the wall told me.
Whatever keeps the voters away from the issues. Stir the pot, works every time. Pathetic.
I think the problem people MIGHT have with this document IF it’s real is that the UBP followed the suggestions. The BDA was formed. The UBP looked dessimated. Shortly thereafter the OBA was formed and by reading the suggestions and seeing what has happened, then it would seem that the OBA is actually just a rebranded UBP. They have been fighting against that label all this time. I will repeat, IF the report is true then the UBP took advice from the report and became the OBA so that would mean the OBA is the same old UBP with a new name AND that would mean that it’s highly unlikely that Mr. Cannonier is the true leader etc. etc. etc.
Even if it’s a real document, how many times has the PLP used race to it’s advantage? I really think some of you PLP supporters have selective memories.
This is a smoke screen and a forgery that is being used to distract away from the PLP’s dismal record on governance and how badly they have left Bermuda while they have been trying to run things.
I won’t get into corruption at all, no need to. What they have been are bad managers for the country. They have failed at their jobs – not all mind you. There are some good, honest folks in the PLP but on the whole, the PLP have failed and now they throw a fake document because they know their backs are against the wall. They realise they have failed in their quest and are terrified of losing power.
So, and I realise this is a bit crazy, I just went and read the conclusions posted on UBPLeaks from the ‘report’. Regardless of its legitimacy, I’m not sure what the fuss is about? This is a political document explaining how the UBP lost, and coming up with a plan to become viable again. It states:
- The UBP has a branding problem and should change its brand
- The UBP lose because black Bermudian voters are prone to vote PLP, regardless of current conditions
- The UBP cannot win in its current format, so a split is suggested
- Black voters might have been turned off by how prominent a white candidate was (Dunkley)
- Poorer, less educated voters are more likely to vote PLP (I’m sure that is simple statistical fact, check the census – just like most democracies)
None of those are particularly shocking. What should a report on this topic say? Let’s hold hands, pray really hard and everything will be better?
And I love how the PLP have the gall to question dodgy political strategies. For those with short memories, the PLP changed their leader to an at the time-unelectable MP 24 hours after the people had voted, because they had to ‘deceive the electorate’. Nice.
@ M.R.
The first step in resolving a problem is to admit there is a problem.
So, please start again – since it is a real document…
As posted above, before you respond, Barritt admitted the existence of the report. Swan, Furbert and Tucker also admitted but they can be dismissed because of possible sour grapes.
Before you write a comment that disparages Barritt, remember that he was the OBA saviour that stood aside to give his seat to a ‘seatless’ Cannonier after he ‘won’ the OBA Leadership.
Be careful also because the existence of the report gives credence to the reported manipulations in the OBA vote that resulted in the most likly winner (Dunkley) not contesting the Leadership.
This really is a very simple issue. The document has been posted on the internet anonymously by ubpleaks.com. The alleged authors of the report adamently deny having written it and have pointed out serious errors, including getting their address wrong and it being dated prior to the 1977 election rather than after it.
If the PLP or anyone else firmly believe that the article is genuine then they should produce it and be fully prepared to defend their action through a court of law if necessary. It is ridiculous to accept a questionable document if no-one is prepared to publicly claim that it is genuine. It should be a clear case of put up or shut up.
@ Reality Check
Everyone seems to be willingly or unwillingly missing an important point. There are 2 documents. The one posted on the internet yesterday appears to be altered for some reason, especially the first page. Gary Moreno demonstrated on TV last night that he has the actual original document. One talk show host has stated that they compared the 2 documents and they are mostly identical except for the first page.
Based on the ZBM reporting, it will be interesting to see if the lawyers issue any other comments today.
Think about it. The internet one was altered in whatever way. Therefore the purported author could accurately deny involvement – plausible deniabilty. Now that the supposed original has surfaced, we will see if they maintain their denial.
Were gonna need a bigger fan.
Brings a new meaning to “we had to mislead you”.
This is a classic! Create a distraction to take the spotlight of yourself. This is a very effective approached. See definition of “Wag the Dog”, by the time this is fully investigated and found to be a false document, it will be too late.
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/wag+the+dog.html
Solution: use your common sense, we all have them. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, guess what, IT’S A DUCK.
Surely it is a criminal offence to publicly distribute a false document to try and rig an election? If so why aren’t the police involved to investigate and if the perpetrators are found, to bring charges? This matter seems so similar to the “forged checks” and there was an outcry then to prosecute.
If a Chinese Man was running for Office I would expect a lot of chinese people supporting him and noone would raise an eyebrow. If a White man were running for Office I would expect a lot of whites to support him and noone would raise an eyebrow. Seems that whenever a Black man runs for Office or anything else for that matter, if there is a large black support base, they must have been bamboozled, race card used to get them to support him, etc! Does anyone else notice this?
The reality is that in a Democracy, the majority rules! Sorry if you do not like the rulers!
When you get right down to it, the timing of this leaked document was very suspicious to me, since it coincided with the release of the absolute WORST scholastic results ever, with a headline that takes the prize for the most misleading – 95% of students pass GCSE (not a quote), which the truth is more like 31% if that!
I have seen this kind of obfuscation, distraction, and diversionary tactic before, and it doesn’t fly. Mr. Barritt and Mr. Swan have both said a document exists, one that was written FOR THE UBP. That was not the document that Mr. Cannonier saw, which was a forgery and which was also denied by the overseas consultants who purportedly wrote it.
The bottom line is, I DO NOT LIKE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO BERMUDA UNDER THE PLP! I have reached the point where I don’t personally care who is actually running the OBA, I am so fed up with where things are right now.
I don’t like lies and deceit. I don’t like feeling powerless. I want a government that listens to the people, and if it doesn’t do what the people want, it has a very good reason for it, and shares that reason intelligently, coherently, in language the people understand. I want a government that spends its money wisely, without a lot of waste and shady dealings. I want transparency and honesty and responsibility. I want a government that isn’t afraid to admit it has made a mistake and for it to be willing to go back to the table, work with all stakeholders and get it right. I don’t want a repeat of either the UBP or the PLP.
Am I asking too much? I actually think the people of this island deserve a government like this. I think there are quite a few of us who have become more politically alert, to the point that I am hoping that whoever wins this election will have a hard time with business as usual.
And for God’s sake, and ours, I want an education system that WORKS! We have just graduated a generation of children who are going to be the ones looking after us as we get older. They are the ones that we are depending upon to work to pay off the massive debt…and more than half of them apparently can hardly read, write or figure! I am sure their self-esteem must be in the toilet, and if I were them, I’d be plenty angry. Maybe that’s what is helping to fuel all this violence, you think?
In any case, something needs to happen with education and very, very soon. We are already in trouble.
This is alot of noise over nothing. A distraction from real election issues. Not even an OBA document. The UBP took a beating at the polls. The UBP wanted to know what to do. Not surprising. The PLP knows all about hiring consultants too, don’t they? Somebody wrote a very candid report. The truth hurts sometimes. It was a private document not unlike any other that an organization might commission from time to time.
Five years later, yes FIVE years later the document is leaked to the press. Much of what was suggested has come to pass. SO WHAT! The OBA has former UBP people. The OBA also has many people who were very unhappy with with the UBP & have no interest in the PLP either.
Enter the desperate PLP diehards who, well aware of the dismal 14 year record of the PLP, have siezed upon the document in an effort to distract voters from real issues.
It is a nothing document & it is 5 years old!!!!
What peeves me is that people are saying they don’t care what the PLP have done, they are still voting for them. They have been voting for them for years. Wayne Furbert said the Lord told him to walk the floor I am wondering if he is now thinking the devil made him do it. Seems the devil is running bullocks naked all over Bermuda and using supposedly decent people to tear this Island apart. STOP THE MADNESS!!